Cubs May Have Gotten a Big Break for Game 1 vs. Padres

They’ll settle it on the field, but the Chicago Cubs may have gotten a big break in Game 1 against the San Diego Padres thanks to an injury to catcher Elías Díaz. The 34-year-old veteran suffered an oblique strain on Saturday, when the Padres played the Arizona Diamondbacks and the severity of the muscle injury was enough to keep him off San Diego’s 26-man roster against the Cubs in the Wild Card series at Wrigley Field.

That means Nick Pivetta, who made 31 starts in his first year with the Padres, will be throwing to Freddy Fermin for the first time ever on Tuesday. Fermin began the 2025 season with the Kansas City Royals and was eventually dealt to the Padres at the trade deadline. Fermin started 38 games behind the plate for the Padres, but none were with Pivetta, who pitched all but 1/3 of an inning to Diaz all season long.

Pivetta was really damn good this year, recording a 2.87 ERA with 190 strikeouts across his 31 starts, which again all came with Diaz behind the plate.

As for the Cubs’ starting lineup, there aren’t any surprises. Kyle Tucker is the designated hitter with Seiya Suzuki getting the start in right.

Pivetta faced the Cubs twice in the regular season and each start was completely different. On April 5, at Wrigley Field, the right-hander only lasted three innings as Pivetta gave up three earned runs on six hits, including a solo home run by Dansby Swanson. In San Diego, Pivetta went six innings and held the Cubs to one run on four hits.

Here’s how the Padres will line up against Matthew Boyd in Game 1.

Interestingly enough, this will be the third time in 2025 that Boyd and Pivetta will matchup against each other. Boyd tossed 11.1 innings in his two regular season starts against the Padres and gave up a total of two runs.

The wind is blowing in at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. This certainly isn’t the hitters’ ballpark that fans may assume it is, but it’s actually benefited the Cubs’ pitching staff. As a team the Cubs had a 2.70 ERA at home when the wind was blowing in. Overall in 2025, the Cubs were 50-29 at Wrigley Field. The first two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers that were played in Japan counted as home games. Meanwhile, the Padres were 38-43 on the road this season.